What followed occurred so rapidly that Phmnx, afterward, had difficulty in reconstructing the incident.
The Yop raised the youngster over its horned head and swung it toward the ground with every intention of smashing the child’s brains out. But the boy abruptly slowed in midair, turned, and landed gently on its feet. The Yop was staring at its now empty hand in surprise. The expression of placid innocence, which had heretofore been the child’s sole visage, shifted all at once into a strong frown that was somehow more terrifying than any contortion of rage could have been. It said, in a very unchildlike tone of voice, two words:
“Bad mans!”
And gestured with the twig.
The two Yops glowed briefly an intolerable silver-white, shading to blue. It was the color of nova—a chrome nova. The two scouts “popped” loudly, once, and disappeared. In their places two clouds of fine gray ash sifted slowly to the ground. The boy pointed his stick at the multiton Yop warship. “More bad mans,” he said. The ship abruptly glowed with the same intolerable radiance. It “popped” with a considerably louder and much more satisfying bang. The boy then turned and went over to the brook. He began slowly stirring the water with his stick.
18
“With Friends Like These . . .
Phrnnx found he could breathe again. The feathers on his ‘back, however, did not lie down. All that remained of the invincible Yop battlewagon was the faint smell of ozone and a very large pile of fine multicolored ash. This was patiently being removed by a small breeze.